Bank Reform Bill Signed, But Bigger Issue Is Coming Regulations

CHICAGO – There is greater concern about what’s to come, than what’s already known about the financial reform bill signed yesterday by the president. Credit union CEOs attending NAFCU’s 43rd Annual Conference said already burdensome regulatory and compliance demands will become overwhelming in the next few years.

“The big impact has yet to be seen,” said Debra Schwartz, CEO at the $2.1-billion Mission FCU San Diego. “Who knows what the regulatory agencies are going to come up with? It may mean that we cannot offer mobile banking because my compliance team is geared up on another task. We can lose by what we can’t, or don’t have the time to offer.”

According to Richard Webb, CEO of Atlantic Financial FCU in Hunt Valley, MD, the 2,400-page bill itself may not yield a lot of promise. “I know parts of it. I don’t know the entire bill. And I don’t know if Congress knows the entire bill. I am familiar with the parts on the new Consumer Protection bureau and I think that is a waste. We already have so many regulatory agencies doing the exact same thing.”

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